Will hens take back ousted head rooster? :(

[rojororeo]

I have 13 hens 3-6 yr old hens, 1 Polish 3 yr old rooster, and his (2) one year old sons. Up until yesterday they happily co-existed, with the sons knowing their place was low.

Well I guess yesterday one son had had enough and did some small fight matches with his father, and evidently dad lost. He is actually physically out of the chicken pen... flew the coop quite literally.
I have never seen such a dejected animal. He is truly and actually slinking along the ground as he slowly walks. he is trying to befriend the barn cats, who have also peacefully lived with the chickens. I didn't realize he didn't even go in the coop last night.

Sorry I am rambling a bit, and I know it is mother nature, but I am finding this to be quite sad for him (and for me obviously!)

If I get rid of his sons, since I have discovered I obviously have an affinity more for him, will the hens take him back? Or will they beat him up?

Our intent had always been to keep only one rooster, ideally butchering dad and a son, so we can breed the Polish out for better egg laying (they were all gimme-birds, so I didn't choose breeds), well life got busy and they never fought, so it was a moot issue. And I have no discovered I prefer dad. lol
They do have plenty of space in the run- its 60ft x 40fx or so, plus they have my 40x40 garden right now too. The coop is smaller, but they spend most of the time out, and that hadn't been an issue in the past. Though with our cruddy winter weather right now, I am sure it doesn't help.

Currently I chased him into the garden where he is hiding between half barrels of strawberries. He is by himself. I plan to catch him in a crate at roost tonight and take him to my mom's hens for a few days until I can sort out if they are okay with a rooster noise-wise, or do I need to cull the sons and have back my dad rooster, if you guys all think the hens would accept him back.

Thanks for the help.

 

[keesmom]

The hens will be fine with him. If he is the one you want to keep then catch the younger males tonight, put them in a bachelor pad and put the old guy back in with the hens.

 

[rojororeo]

Well that is an easy answer. Thank you.

 

[donrae]

I think the hens will be fine accepting him back. Go ahead and cull the sons and leave the older guy as head rooster.

If for some reason he just doesn't get his mojo back, you can always cull him out and bring in another rooster with higher production genes. sounds like that's what you want anyway.

 

[rojororeo]

Donrae, it is exactly what I want... but what I want isn't jiving with feeling guilty over culling a perfectly happy and nice bird just because he doesn't fit what I want.

I am still working out the farm animal aspects of the chickens I think... I also have every intent to cull out old hens when they get there (at 3 to 5/6 years of age, most would say they are already lol).... but I think I will end up with problems there as well... why is it their death because I don't want them... lol urgh. I will get over it, it's just that this part is no fun.

Beautiful dog in your photo, by the way.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

If he is a mature, standard size, healthy rooster, then the hens have no alternative but to accept him. That is if they can't SEE a better (more viral) rooster waiting in the wings. Health is the kicker, is this bird able to take his kingdom back?

Yes, Maw Nature is a cruel old girl.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Cull doesn't necessarily mean kill. It can mean rehome, or to simply remove from the breeding pen (to a bachelor pad for example, as previously suggested).

 

[rojororeo]

If I remove his sons, yes. He doesn't look injured at all to me. Just his pride. I have never seen such a dejected and low animal before as him. If it weren't so sad, it would be comical.

As he has the 2 sons, he obviously had no issues breeding lol. And he took good care of his hens.
As for who to keep, I am still sorting it all out. lol His sons were my first attempt at home breeding, and I have only had chickens about 3 years. I had hoped for some hens, and got only roosters, of course. As I said before, I had every intent of culling out or giving away the pure-bred decorative breeding Polish rooster and keeping a mixed son. Then doing that again after another year or 2 (from the son's progeny, obviously, and on down the line), to remove the Polish non-egg laying genes. But now having to do it in practice is not as easy as in my head. Especially because the 2 sons were obnoxious to the hens when they aged, so it just made me dislike them even more lol.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Cull doesn't necessarily mean kill. It can mean rehome, or to simply remove from the breeding pen (to a bachelor pad for example, as previously suggested).

True, cull means to remove from the brood pen or blood line in which ever fashion that you decide is best..

 

[donrae]

And I can totally see your point in that. Chickens get complicated in your head sometimes. Pets or livestock? Most other animals are pretty clear cut. And ending something's life is never a good feeling....I'm setting here on the computer when I should be out culling three cockerels, just cause it's so not my favorite thing to do

.

I hear you on the hatching all males. I've butchered 3 cockerels, I have 10 more to go as they reach the appropriate age. To show for them, I have 7 pullets. What happened to 50/50?

I've never tried re-introducing a de-throned rooster. My last guy to be booted by a son was 4 years old, and I planned on keeping the son. I really, really liked the father (Rocky) but felt his fertility was decreasing. I would have been okay with allowing him to live on the fringes of the flock but he was so depressed, as you describe your rooster. Only one elderly hen would hang with him, and he was just miserable. I finally felt he'd honestly be happier out of his misery and we butchered him. so, that was the experience I was drawing on when I said you could replace your Polish if the hens wouldn't accept him back.

do you have any Polish hens? I know they don't have a reputation for being stellar layers, but some folks here have had hens that really churned out the eggs. maybe your boy will have some production type genes to pass on.....of course, you've got to get a pullet off him to find out

edited to add--thanks for the compliment on my dog. She's kind of like your Polish---Purely Ornamental